Excerpts

I suddenly realized this morning that I had yet to post an excerpt for MY LORD'S DESIRE, which is scheduled for release next week, and so is likely already out in some stores.

The situation has now been corrected, but d'oh! I guess I was distracted by Christmas and my deadline and revisions.

How do I decide what part of the book I'm going to use for an excerpt?

I don't generally go for the opening of the book. Somebody once suggested (and alas, I forget who) that if you use the opening, a reader might read the excerpt and then, several days later, pick up the book, think the first page sounds familiar and believe they've already read the book. I don't want that to happen, so I generally avoid Chapter One, scene one.

I like to pick a part of the book with the hero and heroine in a situation that suggests the larger conflicts in the book, both internal and external.

This time, I chose a scene that does that, and was the first scene I actually envisioned when I began to think about this story. Changes occurred from my first notion of the situation to the actual way it's presented in the book, but the gist of the scene is essentially the same. I don't want to say too much, so I'll just say that scene is key to the plot, and to the developing relationship between the hero and heroine.

When I add an excerpt to my site, it means I have to change several other pages on my website as well. And since I'm keen to get going on the new book, that meant fixing Chapter One of KNAVE'S HONOR first thing this morning, then going back to MY LORD'S DESIRE, finding the excerpt, uploading it and changing several other pages of my website, too.

It's been quite the busy morning for yours truly!